Crimson Peak

I was wary because to me Del Toro is a pretty overrated director, but en the end I loved Crimson Peak for its artistic style – its not very original story notwithstanding – and I’m giving it almost the highest rating. The money put on it can really be seen. Given that right now there aren’t that many big narrative horror films, I don’t think it’d be fair to throw Crimson Peak among the average. The cast is wonderful, finally someone who really knows how to act in a genre film. A proper gothic-horror in the best sense of the word, and I’m sure it will make it to my TOP 10 this year. (16/10/2015)

I'm not at all surprised that Stephen King likes Crimson Peak so much. It is based on the idea that he so often and gladly promotes (and which was most recently used in the similarly great Dream House), namely that supernatural beings are often the last thing we should fear. Much worse are simply the living flesh-and-blood people. Guillermo del Toro made this romantic horror drama with great clarity. Visually, it is something beautiful (especially the bright colors are very refreshing in this genre, but all the period costumes are a joy to look at as well), in the quiet conversational scenes I was really interested in who was saying what to whom and why, and in the harsher to rough scenes (which the film is definitely not afraid of, see especially the sink and the heart attack ending) I was as tense as a string. In short, everything as it should be, including the performances of the main trio of actors, of which I must once again highlight the amazing Jessica Chastain. Well, we should. And now the third Hellboy, please. (15/10/2015)

Even after all these years, a rewatch of Crimson Peak didn't disappoint — it still holds its grip on me. It's an intriguing blend of supernatural horror and thriller with a psychopathic serial killer. The creators put effort into crafting a disturbing atmosphere without relying solely on cheap scares. Most importantly, the story was engaging and coherent. The only real downside for me was Mia Wasikowska. She's just not my type, leaving me to ponder why I found her appealing in this role. There must be some intangible quality about her, but I'll never quite know for sure. The casting for both the villains and heroes was spot on, their characters felt lifelike, and everything was written and filmed quite well. So, even on a second viewing, I remained satisfied and didn't feel the need to lower my original rating. / Lesson learned: If you believe in ghosts, maybe steer clear of England. (04/06/2022)

Visually stunning film, where some scenes completely captivated me and I couldn't even believe that such a thing could be filmed. And yet the film carries Guillermo's signature. In that aspect, it is beautiful, but story-wise, the movie didn't really grab me, the acting is fine, but not great. It's a shame, the visuals are amazing, but otherwise, it just isn't it. (28/12/2015)

Guillermo del Toro can create an atmosphere and a beautiful scenery; you can’t deny that with any of his movies. But the flow of storytelling can sometimes be an issue and it doesn’t let his movies be perfect experiences.For the first 50 minutes, I thought I’d die of the worst possible movie boredom. It wasn’t until Mia found out that she was on Crimson Peak that it all started to get good. Especially since the atmosphere of the house itself began to show. I must admit, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen two completely different movie halves. While the first half of the movie is awfully boring, the second half is what makes the movie worth watching. (04/11/2016)